Compressed ZIP and RAR archives help pack multiple files into a smaller sized package which makes sharing them easier. But downloading such archives from unknown sources is not an intelligent move as they can contain viruses. Here to help you view the contents of an archive without downloading it as a tool called Open ZIP and RAR With GDocs.

Open ZIP and RAR With GDocs is a browser extension for Google Chrome that, as its name suggests, lets you open compressed archives with Google Docs. The archives must be of the ZIP or RAR format; additionally they must be stored online with a direct download link. After the extension is installed, simply right-click on the download link of a RAR or ZIP archive and select the “Open with Google Docs” option to send it to Google Docs.

In addition to listing the contained files, a benefit of the tool is that it lets you view and download single files from large archives without actually downloading the archive itself.

Mark O'Neill is a freelance journalist and bibliophile, who has been getting stuff published since 1989. For 6 years, he was the Managing Editor of MakeUseOf. Now he writes, drinks too much tea, arm-wrestles with his dog, and writes some more. You can find him on Twitter and Facebook.